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applying for nottingham, ucl, bristol for law ( what are my chances?)

Hi there im applying this year (2024) for law at bristol, ucl, nottingham, birmingham and edinburgh.( im a contextual student)
im unsure at about my chances of receiving an offer due to my weak gcse profile but im hoping my lnat could improve my chances . my predicted grades are A*AA ( psychology, biology, sociology)and gcses are 66665553. my personal statement has been seen as strong ( i read 3 books , work experience , philosophy, debate club, head boy , started law society and chess club) but im still worried that i may not have a strong chance of receiving an offer .
Original post by considerable-qua
Hi there im applying this year (2024) for law at bristol, ucl, nottingham, birmingham and edinburgh.( im a contextual student)
im unsure at about my chances of receiving an offer due to my weak gcse profile but im hoping my lnat could improve my chances . my predicted grades are A*AA ( psychology, biology, sociology)and gcses are 66665553. my personal statement has been seen as strong ( i read 3 books , work experience , philosophy, debate club, head boy , started law society and chess club) but im still worried that i may not have a strong chance of receiving an offer .

You should be fine for Nottingham and Birmingham, so long as you have a strong personal statement that demonstrates your academic interest in law. Your GCSE and A level grades meet the minimum requirements for both Nottingham and Birmingham. Birmingham also has an offer calculator that you can use to input your grades and determine the likelihood of you receiving an offer. Bristol don’t have any GCSE requirements beyond the standard university requirements (which you meet, assuming your 3 was not in English language or maths), but it’s worth noting that they weight your GCSEs: A levels: LNAT in the ratio 20:40:40. Your LNAT and A levels can make up for your GCSE grades, but Bristol is quite competitive for law. As for UCL, so long as you meet either the contextual GCSE requirements if you are eligible (they changed their criteria this year) or have the 6 in English language and maths that they ask for the standard offer, your GCSEs will not impact your application. UCL don’t consider GCSEs beyond meeting the minimum requirements. UCL place a lot more emphasis on the essay section of the LNAT, so doing well in this section could really boost your chances. The only real difficulty you run into here is Edinburgh. Assuming you are applying for their straight law LLB course (which is not a qualifying law degree in England and Wales), you would either need to be studying English at A level or have achieved a 7 in English language and literature at GCSE. Since you do not meet either of these requirements, it’s very likely that you will be rejected on these grounds. You may want to consider another university in place of Edinburgh, but it’s ultimately up to you. If there are extenuating circumstances that could explain your GCSE grades, you may have a better shot, but like Bristol and UCL, Edinburgh is also quite a competitive law school. The most important thing to focus on for now is your personal statement and LNAT. I’ll also be applying to Bristol, Birmingham and Nottingham this year to study law with weaker GCSE grades (and extenuating circumstances) - best of luck with your applications :smile:
Original post by considerable-qua
Hi there im applying this year (2024) for law at bristol, ucl, nottingham, birmingham and edinburgh.( im a contextual student)
im unsure at about my chances of receiving an offer due to my weak gcse profile but im hoping my lnat could improve my chances . my predicted grades are A*AA ( psychology, biology, sociology)and gcses are 66665553. my personal statement has been seen as strong ( i read 3 books , work experience , philosophy, debate club, head boy , started law society and chess club) but im still worried that i may not have a strong chance of receiving an offer .

Hello @considerable-qua!,

The advice given by @bibachu is spot on. I would also add that if you maintain those grades you will be a very strong applicant. Nonetheless, I recommend visiting the unviersities beforehand and reaching out to the admissions tutors so that you have a clear picture of what is required to be given a place at the institutions that you eventually choose.

Feel free to ask us should you have any more questions!

All the best,
Abián.
Bristol assesses Law applications with these weightings - 20% GCSEs / 40% A levels / 40% LNAT, and doesnt read Personal Statements. Your GCSEs are not going to be the deal breaker.

I would recommend you going to Uni Open Days and deciding which is the best Uni environment for you.
Not all Universities are the same.

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